GISSV Math Team Achieves Strong Result in International Tournament

Five GISSV students from Grades 11 and 12 recently took on a demanding mathematical challenge: an international team mathematics tournament held simultaneously at universities in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Austria.

The competition brought together teams from schools across Europe for a challenging set of mathematical problems. Each school could enter one team, with students working together to develop and submit their solutions.

For our team in California, the competition came with an additional challenge: the time difference meant that it took place in the middle of the night. The students met at school at 1:45 am and competed from 2:00 to 5:30 am. Their solutions were then sent to Germany for evaluation.

When the results arrived, the team had earned 515 points and placed 16th among around 60–70 teams participating in Bonn.

The competition was particularly strong, including schools with dedicated gifted-education programs and significantly larger student populations. Many of the participating students were also older, with most around 18 or 19 years old, while our team had an average age of 15.5.

The result is a remarkable achievement and reflects not only the students’ mathematical skills, but also their preparation, teamwork, and perseverance — especially given the unusual competition hours.

The team had prepared for the tournament using materials provided by the participating universities and through several additional preparation sessions with Mr. Berk outside of regular class time.

Congratulations to our five mathematicians on this fantastic result, and a big thank-you to Mr. Berk for preparing and accompanying the team throughout the competition!